6.5 Grendel Ballistics Chart: 11 Factory Loads

6.5 Grendel ballistics across 11 factory loads: 7.7 to 11.2 inches of drop at 300 yards on a 200-yard zero, from each maker’s table.

Originally published: November 2, 2026

The 6.5 Grendel is a purpose-built intermediate cartridge designed to deliver excellent long-range performance from the AR-15 platform. Developed in the early 2000s, it combines a high-ballistic-coefficient 6.5mm bullet with an efficient case that fits standard AR magazines, giving shooters better energy retention, flatter trajectories, and less wind drift than typical 5.56/.223 loads while keeping recoil mild and manageable.

It’s especially popular for medium-game hunting (deer, hogs, and similar), precision rifle matches, and general-purpose shooting out to 500–600 yards or more. Below you’ll find a ballistics chart covering 11 current factory loads so you can quickly compare velocity, energy, and trajectory across the most common offerings.

6.5 Grendel Ballistics Chart: 11 Factory Loads

All the data was acquired from Each manufacturer and read from its product page in October 2026, except the three Frontier drop figures, which we re-zeroed from Hornady’s 100-yard table (the working is under “How These Numbers Were Worked Out” below). Drop is inches below the line of sight. Federal prints two trajectory tables per load; these are the “Long Range” columns, which cross zero at 200 yards. Other companies load the Grendel too; a load missing here means we could not get a full table from its maker, not that it does not exist. Hornady also lists a 100-grain ELD-VT V-Match (2,730 fps, 24.2 inches low at 400 yards on its 200-yard zero), but its page shows “Coming Soon,” so it stays out of the chart until it ships.

How Much Does a 6.5 Grendel Drop at 400 Yards?

Between 22.9 and 32.3 inches on a 200-yard zero, and which end you land on depends almost entirely on the box you bought. The Hornady 90-grain CX is the flattest load in the chart because it leaves at 2,910 fps. The two Hornady 123-grain loads sit in the middle at 26.3 and 26.4 inches, and the three Nosler 120- to 129-grain loads (2,350 to 2,400 fps out of the same 24-inch barrel length) fall past 31 inches.

Think about it this way: a 9.4-inch spread at 400 yards is not a rounding error, it is a different holdover. So if you switch boxes, you re-check your drop. Every time.

Energy at 300 Yards

Heavy and slow wins this one. The Hornady 123-grain SST arrives at 300 yards with 1,193 ft-lb, the most of any load here, while the Federal 90-grain TNT, the fastest load at the muzzle, keeps only 801 ft-lb by 300 because the light bullet sheds speed quicker (Federal prints a ballistic coefficient of .260 for it, against .510 that Hornady prints for the SST). Six of the 11 loads still carry more than 1,000 ft-lb at 300 yards.

Remember, energy is arithmetic (bullet weight times velocity squared, divided by a constant), not a measure of what the bullet does when it gets there. Whether a load is legal or right for deer where you hunt is a question for your state’s regulations and the bullet maker’s stated use.

Your AR Barrel Is Not 24 Inches

Here is the part that trips people up. Nosler prints a 24-inch test barrel on every Grendel load they publish, Hornady prints 24 inches on every one except the Frontier (whose barrel label is cut off on the page), and Federal states 24 inches for its Fusion MSR load (its two American Eagle pages name no barrel at all). Most Grendel owners I see are shooting an AR with a barrel shorter than that, and a shorter barrel means less velocity and more drop than any row above. That’s why it really is best to gather your own data for your particular guns dope. What this means is that you will zero the rifle in at 100 yards or meters and while you do that you need to get a good velocity out of your barrel and your particular load. With the velocity and the information about your bullet, you can enter that into a ballistics calculator and come up with a really good start for your particular platform. But even then you’re gonna have to take it to the range and put bullets to paper at distance and then you can adjust your dope..

Which 6.5 Grendel Load for Deer, Hogs or the Range?

Really it depends which bullet you were gonna be using for each manufacturer of that caliber. For instance, a full metal jacket round is not gonna be appropriate for hunting wear a ballistic tip might be a better choice.

• Deer-sized game: Nosler lists both the 120-grain Ballistic Tip and the 129-grain AccuBond Long Range for “Deer Sized Game,” and Federal lists the Fusion MSR 120-grain for “Big Game.” Hornady’s Custom line, which includes the 123-grain SST, says it is “well-suited to medium and large sized game.”
• Varmints and predators: Federal’s 90-grain TNT is labeled “Predator, Varmint,” and Nosler’s 90-grain Varmageddon is labeled “Varmint.”
• Steel and paper: Federal’s American Eagle 120-grain Open Tip Match is for “Competition, Target Shooting,” and Nosler’s 123-grain HPBT is labeled “Target/Match.” Hornady’s 123-grain ELD Match is a match load.

So a deer hunter’s short list is the hunting bullets the makers name: at 300 yards on a 200-yard zero they drop 9.1 (SST), 10.1 (Fusion MSR) and 11.2 inches (both Nosler hunting loads).

Same Bullet Weight, Different Speed

Grain weight alone tells you less than you think. Nosler’s 123-grain HPBT leaves its 24-inch test barrel at 2,400 fps; Hornady’s 123-grain SST and ELD Match leave theirs at 2,580. That 180 fps shows up as 31.1 inches of drop at 400 yards for the Nosler against 26.3 for the SST. Same weight, same barrel length on paper, almost five inches apart.

The 90-grain loads do the same thing in reverse: Federal’s TNT starts fastest at 3,000 fps but drops more at 400 yards (25.5 inches) than Hornady’s 90-grain CX (22.9 inches), which starts 90 fps slower and carries a higher coefficient (.356 against .260).

6.5 Grendel vs 22 ARC and 6.5 Creedmoor

Where does the Grendel sit next to the other AR and bolt-gun choices, so here is one Hornady load from each, all on Hornady’s own 24-inch, 200-yard-zero tables.

Hornady’s published figures, 24-inch test barrel, 200-yard zero, 1.5-inch sight height, read October 2026. One load per cartridge is a snapshot, not a ranking of the whole cartridge.

The 22 ARC’s 88-grain match bullet drops less, and the Grendel’s 123-grain SST hits harder at 300 by 127 ft-lb. The 6.5 Creedmoor out-does both on drop and energy, and it is a different rifle conversation altogether. Every 22 ARC load we have is on our 22 ARC ballistics page, and every Creedmoor load is on the 6.5 Creedmoor ballistics chart.

How These Numbers Were Worked Out

All the data is gathered from each manufacturers published data, and read from its own product page, the rule our ballistics methodology page sets for every chart here.

Two loads needed a closer look. Federal prints an “Average Range” table zeroed at 100 yards and a “Long Range” table on each page, and the caption under both reads “zeroed at 100 yards.” The Long Range numbers cross zero at 200, and re-zeroing Federal’s own 100-yard numbers reproduces them to the tenth of an inch (the American Eagle 120 gr, for example, goes from 16.3 inches low at 300 to 9.4), so we used the Long Range columns. Hornady prints the Frontier 123-grain FMJ only on a 100-yard zero: 4.7 inches low at 200, 16.7 at 300, 37.6 at 400 and 69 at 500. Moving the zero to 200 yards tilts the line of sight by 4.7 inches per 200 yards, so we added 4.7 × (distance ÷ 200) to each figure, which gives 9.7, 28.2 and 57.3 inches. A full G1 point-mass solve with Hornady’s printed .420 coefficient, the method our calculator uses, lands within half an inch of those numbers.

Want a different zero? Picking one is covered in how to sight in a rifle scope, and the calculator will redraw any row above at 100, 150 or 250 yards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the effective range of a 6.5 Grendel?

The makers do not print one, and I will not invent one for them. What the tables do show is that every load here is still going at least 1,472 fps at 500 yards out of a 24-inch barrel, with 47.2 to 65.3 inches of drop on a 200-yard zero. Your range is the distance at which you can hold that drop and still hit what you aim at.

What is the best zero for a 6.5 Grendel?

For a deer rifle, 200 yards is a sensible starting point, and it is the zero this chart uses for every row. On that zero the loads here print 1.7 to 2.9 inches high at 100 yards, so a close shot needs no hold at all on a deer-sized chest.

What barrel length do the 6.5 Grendel ballistics charts assume?

Twenty-four inches, wherever the maker says. Hornady, Nosler and Federal’s Fusion MSR all state a 24-inch test barrel. Federal’s two American Eagle pages and Hornady’s Frontier page do not show one.

Is the Hornady 123 gr SST the same as the 123 gr ELD Match?

Not the same bullet, but nearly the same flight. Both leave at 2,580 fps on Hornady’s tables, and they are a tenth of an inch apart at 300 and 400 yards. The difference is purpose: Hornady sells the SST in its Custom hunting line and the ELD Match in its BLACK line.

Why does the Federal 90 gr TNT drop more than the Hornady 90 gr CX?

Because it slows down faster. The TNT starts 90 fps quicker, but Federal prints a .260 ballistic coefficient for it against Hornady’s .356 for the CX, so by 400 yards the TNT is 2.6 inches lower.

The Grendel will never be a Creedmoor, and it does not need to be. Pick the hunting load the maker names, confirm its drop from your own barrel at 200, 300 and 400 yards, and tape that card to your stock. Then go fill a tag.

Sources: Hornady, “6.5 Grendel 123 gr SST”; Hornady, “6.5 Grendel 123 gr ELD Match Hornady BLACK”; Hornady, “6.5 Grendel 123 gr FMJ Frontier”; Hornady, “6.5 Grendel 100 gr ELD-VT V-Match”; Hornady, “6.5 Grendel 90 gr CX Custom”; Federal, “American Eagle Rifle, 6.5 Grendel, 120 Grain, Open Tip Match”; Federal, “Varmint & Predator, 6.5 Grendel, 90 Grain, Speer TNT”; Federal, “Fusion MSR, 6.5 Grendel, 120 Grain”; Nosler, “6.5 Grendel 120gr Ballistic Tip Hunting Ammunition”; Nosler, “6.5mm Grendel 123gr HPBT Custom Competition”; Nosler, “6.5mm Grendel 129gr AccuBond Long Range Trophy Grade”; Nosler, “6.5mm Grendel 90gr FB Tipped Varmageddon”; Hornady, “22 ARC 88 gr ELD Match”; Hornady, “6.5 Creedmoor 143 gr ELD-X Precision Hunter”; JBM Ballistics, “G1 drag function table”.

James "The XDMAN" Nicholas

The XDMAN has a talent for taking complex firearms subject matter and breaking it down into an easy-to-understand format that all experience levels can relate to. James is an 07/02 NFA Firearms Manufacturer, a Professional Gunsmith with over 20 years of experience, and a Firearms Writer, Photographer and Firearms Expert. Connect with him on Instagram, X, and Facebook as @therealxdman.

See Full Bio